Lauded by Paste magazine for their “emotional urgency” and by the Chicago Tribune for “the sheer force of the trio's aching, tight-knit harmonies,” the Americana and alt-country musicians of The Lone Bellow perform a July 18 Moeller Nights concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, demonstrating why NPR raved about “the group's earnest, ingratiating charm, dispensed via charisma-drenched songs that amble and soar.”

Performing from a repertoire that includes such classics as “Uncle John's Band,” “Truckin,” “Alabama Getaway,” and the chart-topping “Touch of Grey,” the rockers of The Schwag return to the Rock Island Brewing Company on July 19, appearing locally in their 28th year as professional Grateful Dead tribute artists.

An early pioneer of the 1960s' British Invasion and a bona-fide rock-and-roll legend plays Davenport's Redstone Room on July 20, with the venue hosting the area arrival of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Denny Laine, the 74-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who co-founded The Moody Blues and the Paul McCartney-led outfit Wings.

On July 21, a quartet of gifted musicians serve as the latest guests in Polyrhythms' Third Sunday Jazz Workshop and Matinée Series, with Davenport's Redstone Room hosting an evening of jazz originals and standards with the 3 Dawgs & a Bone ensemble of Scott Barnum on bass, Jim Dreier on drums, Steve Grismore on guitar, and Rich Medd on bone – trombone, that is.

Described by Broadway World as “bursting with show-stopping number after show-stopping number” and by the New York Theatre Guide as “a tap-dancing extravaganza of pure delight,” the exhilarating show-biz salute 42nd Street enjoys a Quad City Music Guild staging at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, its July 12 through 21 run demonstrating why this modern stage classic, in its 1980s debut, ran 3,486 Broadway performances and earned Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Choreography.

With Talkin' Broadway calling it “a lighthearted look at the struggle between art and commerce” as well as “a play that you can't help but love,” the Hollywood period comedy Something Intangible serves as the latest production at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, with the show's July 12 through 21 run sure to prove why the Philadelphia City Paper deemed it an “:insightful exploration of artists and the people who love – and suffer – them.”

“To be, or not to be: that is the question.” “Brevity is the soul of wit.” “To thine own self be true.” “The lady doth protest too much.” “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” Some of the most famous lines in world-theatre history are set to be heard in Rock Island's Lincoln Park when Genesius Guild presents William Shakespeare's timeless classic Hamlet from July 13 through 21, the company's first staging of this revered Elizabethan tragedy in 18 years.

Exhibits, displays, games, cookouts, fireworks, local and national country musicians, and even a beauty contest for trucks will be on hand in the 40th Annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree, the July 11 through 13 event held at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop in celebration of America's big rigs and those who drive them.

Five days of outdoor fun will be on hand when East Moline's Rock Island Country Fairgrounds hosts the annual Rock Island County Fair July 16 through 20, offering patrons mornings, afternoons, and evenings filled with carnival rides, games, food vendors, animal shows, racing tournaments, and exciting events scheduled for the nights' grandstand entertainment.

Touring in support of his 2019 album Survivor Blues, a release that Rock and Blues Muse said “features formidable versions of hidden gems by a blues master backed by his masterful band,” the legendary blues vocalist/guitarist Walter Trout takes the stage at Davenport's Redstone Room on July 12, his concert sure to demonstrate why Blues Rock Review calls him “one of blues' strongest active musicians” with “a stunning amount of material.”

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